On the fast lane....

Image hosted by Photobucket.comIt's been a long time coming. But finally, I'm on DSL (Digital Subscriber Link). I applied for a PLDT myDSL account last week, and only a few hours ago, a PLDT technician dropped by to install my ADSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Link) modem. It was installed quite painlessly. A data/voice splitter (a small plastic box only a tad larger than a box of matches) is plugged to my phone line, one end of the line goes to my phone, the other to the ADSL modem. The modem is plugged to my PC's ethernet (LAN) port and is powered by an AC adaptor plugged in a power outlet. An installation CD was then inserted in an optical drive, the installation program started automatically, and the login name and password were entered. That's it. Fired up Firefox and now I'm browsing the internet at up to 384 kbps, a far cry from my peak connection speed of 53.3 kbps (at best) on my dial-up modem.

DSL works on the principle that only a small portion of the potential bandwidth (amount of information that can be transmitted or recieved) of a phone line is actually used for voice calls. The untapped bandwidth is now used to carry internet data via a digital signal running on a different frequency. The voice and data signals travel through the phone network and is only split into two at the end of the phone line. There, one end goes to your phone, and the other to a DSL modem, then to your PC.

I have to admit that surfing with a broadband connection is indeed a truly different experience. Pages load in an instant. Downloads are done in a flash. Video and audio streaming are incredibly smoother. And the speed makes you more efficient. Virtually no more waiting. If dial-up weren't so useful, it ought to be totally abandoned.

When I first got on the net in 1996, I remember that my ISP at the time had a 512 kbps direct connection to the internet, while I connected to my ISP using a U.S. Robotics 14.4 kbps ISA internal modem. It didn't seem possible then that a broadband connection was possible over an ordinary phone line. Now, I have up to 384 kbps of bandwidth using the same phone line I did nine years ago. All that bandwidth with which to do as I please...even while making a voice call at the same time. If that isn't progress, I don't know what is. :-)

Goodbye dial-up. Despite our disagreements at times, you have always been a good, loyal and for the most part, a reliable friend for all these years...but you shall not be missed.

Links:

PLDT says DSL subscribers growing by 1,000 a week

Comments

Tanya said…
i'm still on dial up *sniff* waaaaaaaaah!
March 20, 2005 4:15 PM
Ronald Allan said…
I know the feeling...:-)
March 20, 2005 4:36 PM
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